Lean On Me
by StarWarrior72
Summary: Anakin is surprised and appalled by what Vader has done to Luke.
1. Chapter 1

Luke made a loud sound of protest, and Anakin dropped the bottle he had been offering his son. As the child continued to scream, he lifted him carefully, hugging him close.

"It's okay, Luke. Shh. Take a deep breath."

In his arms, the child followed none of his instructions. He kept rocking the child carefully, then started bouncing him slightly. Luke stopped wailing and began to giggle slightly.

"There, that's better," Anakin said, offering him the bottle again.

Luke hiccupped loudly and took it.

_Seventeen years,_ Anakin thought,_ and he still hasn't improved. I had hoped…_ but he couldn't bring himself to think what he'd hoped when Luke had been recognized as developmentally delayed.

It had nearly been enough to drive him to suicide.

As the boy began to wail again, Anakin hugged him once more. After Padmé and baby Leia's deaths, he had been so glad and proud to be able to at least take his newborn son in his arms.

It had been a long time before he'd been able to bring himself to take the three-year-old who still couldn't speak in for testing. In addition to speaking, Luke had never learned to walk or feed himself. He was still limited to incoherent cries to attract attention so his father could attend to his needs.

In Anakin's arms, Luke moved slightly and pushed against his father. Anakin kept holding the boy as Luke started to gurgle. He gently patted his son's back, and the boy burped a little bit of milky vomit down his back. He'd clean it up later.

Then Luke started whimpering, reaching for his modified bed; the one with rails to keep him from falling out. Anakin carefully placed his son in the cradle and changed into the spare tunic he kept with his son's supplies.

He lowered one of the rails and sat beside the sleeping child.

Asleep, Luke looked almost normal. He looked like he had gone to sleep a little more suddenly than one usually would, and he did perhaps drool just a little more, but he still looked like a healthy child.

Since his birth, his sister and mother's deaths, and Anakin's expulsion from the Jedi Order, Luke had been his father's life. Obi-Wan had been kind enough to convince the Order that Anakin would need to spend all the time he could with his son until the boy had grown old enough to care for himself. At the time, it hadn't been known that that would probably be forever, but when Anakin had told Obi-Wan distraughtly that his son would never be mature, the Order had all seemed sympathetic, agreeing to continue to fund their existence.

For a time, Anakin had taken on some mechanical repair jobs, but they had had less and less charm as his son remained unable to care for himself.

In a matter of a few months, Anakin's life had been reduced to sitting at the bedside of a child with a broken mind.

He wasn't resentful of his son. He knew that Luke didn't try to be difficult. He was certain that if Luke could choose, he would be cured in an instant. As it was, he didn't think that Luke was aware enough to know that he was missing anything. Indeed, the only interaction Luke responded to positively was Anakin's presence. Even Obi-Wan caused Luke to shriek in protest when he neared.

Anakin smiled sadly and put his hand on his son's forehead, "It's just the two of us, isn't it, Luke?" he asked. It was an old joke, one he had once shared with Obi-Wan when they were away from the Temple on missions, then with Padmé when they were able to sneak away for a while.

He loved his son, of course. What kind of father could _not_ love his son? But he did wish frequently that Luke would open his mouth one day and, instead of screaming, speak real words. Because of Luke's reaction to anyone besides his father, Jedi friends had long since stopped visiting. Only Obi-Wan came anymore, and even that was beginning to seem less and less frequent.

Anakin missed having people to talk to who would answer him. He missed flying, something else he'd had to give up to stay with his son. He missed going on missions. He missed his wife. He even missed meditating and being scolded at the Jedi Temple sometimes.

He heard fast breathing and looked up, expecting to see Obi-Wan having run to ask for help with something.

Instead there stood before him a young man, around Luke's age, perhaps, with similar blonde hair and blue eyes. He was bruised all over, lacerated from unknown cruelty. He was staring at the boy in the cradle.

As he realized that Anakin had seen him, he looked up and began to shake slightly, blinking very rapidly.

"Hello," Anakin said cautiously, wondering who the man was. What was he doing in Anakin's home? And, most surprisingly, why hadn't his presence caused Luke to wake up screaming?

The youth looked very nervous, but he said softly, "Hello."

Anakin stood up, looking at the stranger in concern, "Are you alright?"

He was still shaking where he stood, looking quite terrified of Anakin, "My name is Luke Skywalker," he blurted.

"Luke Skywalker?" Anakin echoed, looking from the healthy young man to his own sleeping son.

"Yeah, just like him," the youth answered, pointing frantically at the sleeping child.

Anakin started to move towards the intruder, wanting to help him to sit down, but as he neared, the boy started shaking still more frantically and threw himself into Anakin's arms.

Anakin stood still, blinking at the tightly attached child, "How did you know my son's name?"

The boy released him, looking terrified, stepping back slowly, then with increasing speed until he arrived unceremoniously at the opposite wall, "I…you- I mean…"

Anakin nodded encouragingly, "Go on."

The second Luke opened his mouth as if he was about to respond, but suddenly there was a strange sucking on the air, and a mammoth black figure appeared in the corner to his right. The youth shrieked and ran to a side of the room that was as far away from both adults as possible.

Anakin forced himself to look away from the strange spectacle and down at his son, who would doubtless be awake by now. But Luke slept peacefully on. Anakin looked back up at the strangers. The injured youth had crumpled to the floor, where he was frantically shaking, having started to cry.

Suddenly, a third was in the room, asides from Anakin and his son, a man who was unmistakeably Obi-Wan, but with whiter hair, and more lines in his face. He had appeared right behind the youngest of the new arrivals, and the boy cried out again, scampering frantically back to the center of the room.

Obi-Wan had a gentle look of concern on his face, but with it was a sense that he was there to keep the boy from doing something.

At last, Anakin's son woke up, starting to cry. Anakin turned to Obi-Wan and said, as gently as he could bring himself to, "Please leave. You scare my son."

Obi-Wan nodded simply, evaporating into the air once more. In his cradle, Luke rolled over and went back to sleep.

The boy in the center of the room, who also claimed to be Luke, was looking at the boy in the cradle with an expression of utmost longing. Anakin motioned him closer, deciding as he did so that the child must have been tired to look at a sleeping child with such desperation.

Slowly, in the most frightened way imaginable, the youth stepped forward, moving towards Anakin.

"Stop," the behemoth ordered.

Instantly, the young man froze, whimpering.

The dark form advanced, and Anakin raised a hand, holding him back with the Force.

"Stay away from him. It's obvious you've done enough to him already," Anakin commanded. He felt the monster push back at him with considerable strength, but he was stronger, and kept the man at bay. As the two adults fought, the young man hurried to Anakin's side.

At last, the black form stopped pushing at Anakin's defences, apparently having decided that he was scaring the boy enough just by being there.

"Do as I tell you, boy. I wouldn't want to re-enact some of our previous encounters," he threatened the youth.

Instantly the teen's hands sprang to one of the worst looking wounds. Anakin swore that he would make this stranger pay for what he had done to the child.

He turned back to the boy, "So, tell me, Luke, how did you know my son's name?" he tried to make the words light, absently curious, so that the youth wouldn't be too afraid to answer.

"My father's name was Anakin," Luke answered.

"Was?" Anakin asked, pushing aside the coincidence, "Did _he _kill your father?" he asked, indicating the black giant.

Luke started to cry again, "Not exactly."

Anakin gently ushered the boy to sit on his son's bed next to himself, and the boy hesitantly accepted his invitation. Anakin gently wrapped one arm around the crying teenager, wanting to comfort the poor boy, but not knowing how.

"I _am_ his father," the dark one said with great relish, clearly enjoying the helpless wail Luke gave as he buried himself against Anakin, looking for protection.

"I turned to the Dark Side to protect Padmé, but she died anyway. All that's left is that worthless parasite."

"You mean," Anakin started unsurely, "You're me, and he's him?" he asked, indicating himself, then the black figure, and then the crying youth, and his own sleeping son.

"We became wiser than you can imagine when I turned to the Dark Side," the dark man answered.

"No!" the child cried out, "Wisdom implies well-meani," but he was cut off by a shout as another slash appeared through his shirt.

"Shut up, boy!" Anakin's dark inversion shouted.

Anakin leapt to his feet, rushing to get between the boy and his dark self, "Leave him alone!"

The dark man laughed darkly, "You can protect him now. Losing our limbs did weaken me enough that you can defeat me, but Luke doesn't belong here. Sooner or later, he will lose strength, and return to our galaxy to be tortured once more."

From where he sat by Anakin's son's bed, Luke cried softly, clearly affirming the dark being's belief.

"Fine," Anakin snapped, "I know my limits. I learned them the hardest way possible. But if he can stay here a moment longer, leave. Whatever you've done to him has clearly almost broken him. Once you've broken him completely, he won't cry out in torture anymore, and you clearly enjoy that, twisted being that you are. Go away, and let me comfort him," Anakin swallowed, "When he can't keep himself here any longer, there will be more of him intact for you to break."

The dark one nodded and dissipated into the air.

Anakin turned to the two children, one peacefully sleeping, the other grasping fistfuls of the first's blankets and crying silently.

"What happened, Luke?" Anakin asked kindly, sitting in front of the waking one and looking into his face.

"I-I don't know. It's like he said, I guess. He turned to the Dark Side to save Padmé. That's my mom, right?"

"Yes," Anakin said, nodding.

"He doesn't speak to me to do anything but tell me how stupid I am, so I'd never heard that before," Luke sniffed.

Anakin nodded, taking the crying boy in his arms and rocking him carefully, the same way he always rocked his own son.

"I grew up away from him. Obi-Wan took me to my aunt and uncle when I was born. He didn't know I'd been born. I keep hoping that he would have cared for me if he'd known."

Anakin nodded, rubbing the boy's back, "I don't know how much he changed when he turned to the Dark Side, clearly a fair deal, but I think he would have cared for you."

"Obi-Wan," Luke's voice hitched, "said that you were what he might've been like if he hadn't turned."

"I suppose I am."

"You would have cared about me, right?" Luke asked desperately, looking up at Anakin with tear-filled eyes.

"Of course I would've, Luke. I've cared for this you no-matter what," Anakin said, gesturing to the sleeping child.

Luke nodded slowly.

"Is your sister all right?" Anakin asked.

"Leia's fine."

"What's she like?" Anakin asked, unable to stop himself. He didn't want to hurt the boy's feelings by obsessing over someone who wasn't him when he was clearly the most loving person Luke had had in a long time.

"She's strong. She's a politician and a fighter. She grew up on Alderaan," Luke answered quickly.

"What's happened to you?"

"Like I said, I was raised by my aunt and uncle. I-I, uh, it's a long story. I was raised by them, but since then, in a series of mistakes, I've joined the Alliance against Father's Empire and been captured, and tortured, for several months now," he spoke in a rush, as if he wanted it all out, and when he was done, he fell against Anakin's chest sobbing again.

"Obi-Wan brought me here so I could see you just once. He's going to make me go back to prison afterwards. He didn't mean for me to try to join you physically in this galaxy. He just wanted to give me a chance to see you care for that me."

"That seems cruel," Anakin said simply, "Forcing you to see what you might've had then go back to your terrible reality."

Luke sniffed, "I think he was hoping it might make my father guilty to see me cry in desperation because I need to be cared for like that," he indicated the sleeping boy again.

"It didn't work, did it?"

"No," Luke said softly, "No. It made him laugh."

Anakin held the poor boy close for a few more seconds before the older-looking version of Obi-Wan appeared in the room again. He must have been the same age as the Obi-Wan Anakin knew, though, aged by a much harsher galaxy.

"Come along, Luke. It's time for you to go home. You can't come back here again, I'm afraid."

_Home,_ Anakin thought bitterly,_ he wants Luke to call his personal Hell 'home'._

Luke carefully moved out of Anakin's arms, then kissed his cheek, "Thank you for caring for me."

Anakin stood, wanting to take the boy back in his arms and protect him, "I'll keep him here, thanks."

"If you do that, I'd be forced to take your son with me back to our galaxy."

Anakin looked at his sleeping child, who, for once, had not been woken by Obi-Wan's presence.

"My dark self would be just as cruel to him, wouldn't he?"

"Probably," Luke said softly, "Just let me go. I'm used to it."

He stood from his safer galaxy's counterpart and walked to Obi-Wan, who put a gentle hand on his shoulder and took him away in an instant.

Anakin looked at the place from which they had vanished, "But you shouldn't have to be used to it."


	2. Chapter 2

"Daddy!"

Anakin turned in startled excitement; his son had spoken to him! But the boy's mouth was closed, his eyes also shut, nearly asleep.

He looked up and there in front of him was the other Luke.

"Daddy," the youth repeated pathetically, reaching out, begging for a hug.

Anakin obliged, and the young man continued to cry into his hair.

"It's going to be alright, Luke. I promise you, everything will be alright."

The poor, tortured child didn't release Anakin or respond in any way, except to continue muttering, "Daddy, Daddy," repeatedly.

Anakin stood from his son's bed, trusting him to go to sleep. In fact, it seemed already that he was asleep.

"Come on, Luke," he said, gently guiding the sobbing teen towards the kitchen, "You look like you could use some food."

The boy nodded, but didn't release Anakin. To make sure he didn't trip on him, he lifted the boy in his arms. The boy weighed almost nothing.

"He's starving you, isn't he?"

"Vader?" the boy asked, "No, he's not. He doesn't have enough to do with me to be the one who's starving me. He's just neglecting me. No, it's the men in the prison who are starving me."

Anakin nodded sympathetically, carefully resting the boy in a chair in the kitchen, then fetching him some food.

Luke cried as Anakin placed the food in his hands, and Anakin took it back, spoon-feeding him instead.

"It's alright, Luke. Shh, just eat. You can cry when you're done, alright?"

Luke hiccupped and nodded, calming himself in an instant. Then he took the food from Anakin's hands and finished feeding himself.

Anakin took the opportunity to take in the child's wounds, and almost wished he hadn't. Much of the skin had been torn from youth's body, apparently everywhere Anakin had touched him last time they'd been together. There was no flesh at all on his back. His father, Anakin's dark inversion, Vader, had taken away the worn, ripped, ratty shirt that had kept the boy warm.

"Thank you," Luke said, putting the empty bowl on the table, "Thank you so much. I'm sorry to intrude again, but it's just been so awful. I needed to see someone who would care for me again," his voice dropped, "And I needed to call someone daddy."

Anakin nudged Luke's chin up, smiling at him, "You can come here any time you need to. And please feel free to call me daddy."

Luke shyly returned the smile, "You're not mad?"

"Of course I'm not mad. I think you have enough anger in your life already without my help."

Luke nodded sadly, "Yeah. You have no idea."

It made Anakin's heart ache to see the boy so tortured. He didn't know what Luke had done to be subjected to it, but he was certain that the boy's crimes hadn't been anything terrible. Luke was too sweet and kind to have ever set out to hurt anybody.

"Come on, kid," he said, gently helping Luke to his feet, "I'm going to give you a new shirt, you look like you must be freezing."

But, far from seeming comforted by the thought, Luke burst into tears, burying his face in his hands.

"Luke? Are you alright?"

Luke pressed himself against Anakin, sobbing silently.

"What's wrong?"

"Th-that's what Han always used to call me, and now I'm never going to see him again!" the boy wailed.

"Han?"

"He's my best friend. He usually does what I'm making you do right now. And-and he always called me kid."

Anakin nodded, "I'm sorry. I won't call you that again, I promise."

Luke nodded, "Thank you."

"Come on, let's get that shirt for you."

Luke looked up through his tears, smiling gratefully, "Yes, please. My cell gets so cold at night."

Anakin nodded, trying not to cringe at the thought of Luke living in a cell, being tortured, being starved. He led Luke back to his own Luke's room and found him a shirt, which he accepted with such desperation that Anakin wanted to cry himself.

As soon as Luke had tightly wrapped himself in the shirt, he returned to Anakin's side, as if he wanted to be with him every moment. Anakin thought he probably did, and that he certainly deserved the attention from a more caring source than his own father.

"Has he ever done anything kind for you?"

"He hasn't killed me yet."

Anakin waited for the boy to give another answer, but nothing came.

"What's happened to the galaxy?"

"You turned to the Dark Side and overturned the Jedi Order and the Republic. Palpatine replaced it all with the Empire. But he's an awful leader. There's slavery and thieving and all kinds of awful things all over my galaxy. So eventually the Rebel Alliance was started. Leia was a major part of it, even at first, though she was only five," Luke smiled up at Anakin, seeming to know how that revelation would make him swell with pride.

"I joined later. Earlier this year, actually," as he said it, Luke's expression changed to one of surprise, then tears, "Force, it's only been a few months since I was safe! Only a few months since I'd never heard of the idea of torture!"

"It's alright, Luke. You were obviously doing the right thing."

Luke looked up at Anakin with huge eyes, "Thank you," he sniffled, "You don't know how much that means to me."

Anakin sighed sadly, "I'm so sorry he's done this to you. I'm sorry _I've_ done this to you."

Luke shook his head, "It's not you, Daddy. I just know it. He's not enough like you, even if you do share a physical body."

Anakin didn't answer.

"You've been wonderful to me, even though you don't have any reason to be," Luke said, resting against Anakin's chest.

"Of course I had a reason to be. You are my son, after all."

Luke sniffled doubtfully, but didn't openly reject the idea that they were father and son. Anakin himself didn't fully believe it. Luke was from a different galaxy, a different Anakin was his father, but an Anakin very much like himself. He himself had a different Luke for a son. But at the end of the day, both boys relied on him to care for them.

"Besides that, you're an intelligent being who doesn't make this Luke cry. I've missed intelligent conversation."

Luke smiled again, but it was a hollow, sad smile, "Thanks for calling me intelligent. My father would disagree."

"Your father is cruel. You really should forget him occasionally. He clearly sets out each day to hurt you more than he hurt you the last."

"It feels that way sometimes."

Anakin's heart ached, wishing that the poor child would stop blaming himself for all his father's shortcomings. He didn't see how Vader could hurt the fragile-seeming little boy who rested there right before him. Luke's head was bowed, looking at his clasped hands, which rested on his knees, which were closely pressed together as if he didn't think that he deserved space in Anakin's home.

"I should go back to the prison," Luke said at last, "They'll be waking me up for torture any minute. I love you, Daddy. Can I please come back when I need to?"

Anakin nodded, kissing his the boy's forehead.

Then the young man disappeared into thin air.


	3. Chapter 3

The next time that the other Luke came to visit, he entered silently. Anakin didn't know how long he'd stood at the door, but by the time he turned around and spotted the boy, Luke was crying silently, breaking down completely.

Anakin leapt to his feet, running to put his arms around the boy and try to comfort him.

"Luke, what's happened? What has Vader done to you this time?"

Luke's small body just pressed itself closer against Anakin, sobs racking his frame.

Finally, his head tilted back, tear filled eyes locking onto Anakin's, "I was able to take the shirt with me when I left you," he said.

"Yes, I know."

"And I felt a bit better in the area of having eaten for a while."

"I'm glad."

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Luke?"

"Would you do me a favour?"

"Of course," Anakin started to answer before breaking off, "No, wait. Before I promise, what do you want?"

Luke pressed back against his chest, shaking, then suddenly calm, "Please kill me."

The words hit Anakin hard. The way Luke spoke them broke his heart. Quiet, sad, scared, but clearly quite certain that it was the only way to proceed.

"Please just get it over with. I don't want to live through another day in the prison. I can't take it," Luke moaned, slipping back into incoherent tears.

Anakin stood still, holding the crying young man, trying to think of what to say. Feeling the trembling body against his own, he found himself looking at his own Luke. That boy never seemed aware of what his father did to him. Anakin never hurt him, of course, but no matter how angry he was, no matter how much shouting he was doing, his Luke never seemed frightened. That boy never shied away. Perhaps he would never notice physical torture either. Perhaps it would be best if he did trade the two children. Vader's Luke had been driven so close to suicide.

"Don't die, Luke. Don't want to die, please. No matter how much Vader hates you, I love you."

At those words, Luke crumpled to the floor, Anakin dropping after him faster than he could fall.

"He doesn't hate me, Daddy," Luke sobbed, looking up at Anakin as though it took all the strength he had, and more, "He just doesn't care. He doesn't care at all. I-they make me work for them, building blasters so they can kill my friends better, and Father supervises. I keep trying to go up to him, but the guards just throw me back," Luke bowed his head, looking very small and pathetic, "And he doesn't even turn in my direction."

Once again, Anakin was speechless. He let the boy stay in his small, folded position and carefully put his hands on the boy's shoulders. Luke shrugged them away, still gazing at the floor, but shifting his gaze from Anakin's knees to a spot to his left.

"I don't deserve to be here. Father says that I should've died instead of Mom. He says she'd be ashamed of me. He's told me that she'd want me dead even more than he does. Except that's not hard, because he wants to torture me for all of eternity. If I die now, it'll ruin his sport, which is why I'm asking. Please, please, Daddy, just kill me."

With the last words he had turned to gaze helplessly into Anakin's eyes, his expression saying all too plainly that he really wanted what he was asking for.

"Please, you've got a lightsaber. You could make it so fast it wouldn't even hurt."

Anakin continued to stare at the defeated child for another moment before he pulled the child close against himself once more, "Luke, please don't ask me to do that. I know I may not be your father from your galaxy, but I have more of a claim you to than he does. Luke, I'm so proud of you. You've survived so much, and it's very impressive. I'm proud to think that we have the right genes to be father and son, even if we never have been before now."

Luke melted against him, not answering.

"Luke, look at me. I know he makes this hard for you."

Luke opened his mouth to interject, but Anakin cut him off.

"I know that it's his goal to make it nearly impossible for you to live from day to day. I know that your galaxy hasn't given you much of a reason to live. But you've persevered, and there's only one thing more impressive than surviving this long."

Luke's eyes were dull, not curious at all, "What's that?"

Anakin's heart beat faster, feeling desperately sure that this was his last chance to prevent Luke from finding a way to kill himself, "Living until tomorrow."

Luke sighed, looking down at the ground once more, "If I live until tomorrow, and then come back, will you take mercy on me?"

"Luke, that's not what I meant," Anakin said. Then he caught the sad, desperate look in the child's face, "I will. I promise."

Once again, Luke closed his desperate blue eyes and leaned on Anakin, "Thank you. Oh, thank you. I'll try to go on living for you, I promise. But when it's too hard, I will hold you to that promise."

Anakin nodded, wishing there was some way to tell the poor child that he was Anakin's galaxy without feeling disrespectful to his own son.

"Daddy, would you play a game with me?" Luke asked.

Anakin nodded, perplexed.

"Will you treat me like you treat your son? Just for a few minutes?"

Anakin found himself smiling. He lifted the weightless child in his arms, carrying him like a baby, rocking him, singing his mother's old lullabies. In his arms, Luke curled up, nestling close against his chest, giving him complete and utter trust.

"Daddy," he said happily. Anakin expected him to continue, but he didn't, simply snuggling closer and starting to try to sing along.

How could anyone in the galaxy want to hurt the poor child? What could have turned Anakin so wrong that Luke looked like a fun person to hurt?

Suddenly, still nuzzled against Anakin's chest, Luke twitched. Anakin looked down at his face in concern, and there was an expression of pain there.

"Luke?"

"They're trying to wake me up. I don't want to wake up!" Luke cried desperately, clinging to Anakin's tunic.

Anakin wrapped his arms tight around the boy in response, but Luke was torn away.


	4. Chapter 4

The next time Anakin saw his second son, the boy was being dragged by his ear. Vader grasped it tightly in one hand, wrenching it sharply as Anakin turned around.

Luke cried out and tried unsuccessfully to pull away, apparently only causing himself pain.

Vader gave a sickly laugh and twisted again, until Luke had been forced to turn his head halfway around, crying his pain to Anakin.

Anakin used the Force to wrench Vader's hand away from Luke, who ran to Anakin and buried his face against his tunic. Anakin cupped the boy's head in his hand, keeping him pressed close and glared at Vader.

"He came back to you."

"Yeah, he did, and I can see why."

Luke cried silently in Anakin's arms, clinging to him tightly.

"It would appear it didn't trouble you much."

Anakin rubbed the back of the boy's head, "Of course it didn't. He needed attention and care, and I have plenty of that. More than enough for him and my own son."

"What's wrong with your son?" Vader asked, looking past Anakin to the other boy, who was sitting in his crib gazing off into space with the happiest possible expression on his face, completely unaware of what was going on before his very eyes.

"There's nothing wrong with him. He perceives the world differently."

Vader moved quickly enough that Anakin didn't catch the movement until it was too late. Vader dragged his own son up to Anakin's son and yanked on his ear once more, making Luke cry out pitifully.

Anakin yanked the boy away again, and held him close as the child continued to cry helplessly.

Vader was looking curiously at Anakin's Luke, who hadn't responded to his counterpart's shout at all. As Anakin watched, Vader prodded the boy, who giggled and swiped his hand away.

Anakin watched in astonishment as Vader continued to play gently with Luke, teasing him affectionately.

In Anakin's arms, Vader's son continued to shake and cry in pain. Anakin watched in disbelieving awe. How could Vader hate his own son when he seemed to have already bonded with Anakin's Luke?

"What's wrong with your son?" Anakin asked, confused, "Why isn't he good enough for you?"

Vader looked up from the boy in the crib, "Him? What's good about him?"

"What's so wonderful about my son? He can't even feed himself!"

Vader glared coldly at Anakin, "He needs your care. That one? He doesn't. I want someone who needs _protection_."

The Luke in Anakin's arms turned to his father, opening his mouth to argue.

"That's exactly what I mean," Vader said, dismissing Luke with a gesture, "He stands up for himself. If he would just stop trying to protect himself, I might be able to care for him."

Instantly, Luke made himself seem small and pathetic, reaching helplessly for Vader.

"Perhaps he made too strong an impression," Vader said, turning away from his own son and back to Anakin's.

"At least he can feed himself and walk!"

"Wonderful for him. You know, no matter how hard I try to stop him from doing that, I can't seem to."

Vader moved towards Anakin, using the Force to take one of his son's boots and drop it on the floor. He made Luke balance on one foot as he showed Anakin the sole. Anakin flinched as he saw the bloody, tattered remains of a foot.

Luke looked ashamed, hiding his face as he turned away.

"Your son wouldn't hide things like that from you."

Anakin made Vader release the boy and took him in his arms, carefully lifting his broken feet from the floor.

"No, he wouldn't. Luke hides things he thinks might hurt people."

The Luke Anakin held pressed closer, enjoying his protection even in the face of his father. The Luke Vader was cautiously introducing himself to was babbling. Each child seemed happy with the man who had chosen them.

Still gently tickling Anakin's son, Vader spoke, "I'm going to kill Luke when I take him back."

Luke had been beginning to relax, apparently having both versions of his father close was comforting to him. As his father spoke, however, he began to shake violently.

Hurting for the helpless boy, Anakin spoke, "Why would you say something like that?"

Vader lifted Anakin's son out of the crib, "I hoped I would be able to see you turn to the Dark Side. But now," he looked down at the boy in his arms, "perhaps we could trade somehow. I would take good care of your son," he made a sound of disbelief, "And I know you would care for that one."

Anakin felt the boy in his arms shaking, and looked at his own son, who was giggling up at Vader. He loved both children, hated the idea of abandoning either one. But he felt Vader would keep his word pertaining to whichever child he took home.

Keep his own son home and safe and know that Vader's son, who trusted him deeply, had been killed? Or keep Vader's son and let his own son go to another man who would care for him? Anakin wanted to believe that there was a struggle deciding between the two. He wanted to think that it was hard for him to cope with the idea of abandoning his own child to a cruel, evil torturer. But the decision was much easier.

"Alright."

In Anakin's arms, Luke seemed to gain renewed strength, wrapping himself around the man who had just agreed to adopt him. In Vader's arms, that Luke was quite unaware of the change.

"How will we go about this?"

"Obi-Wan talked about being able to do it," Luke said.

Vader glared at Luke, transparently wishing he wasn't so independent.

Anakin nodded, both affirming his son and agreeing with him.

Luke closed his eyes tightly, holding one of his new father's hands in his own as though trying to draw power from him.

"Obi-Wan? I know you said you couldn't help me if I decided to face Father, but this is separate. Please come."

At Luke's whispered prayer, Obi-Wan, the older-looking, grayer version, appeared in the room.

Anakin spoke for the whole group, "We've decided that Vader's Luke should stay here. Vader has promised to be good to my son."

Obi-Wan looked slightly disturbed at the idea, but he nodded, "I suppose that it's good he can't be trained."

Anakin disregarded the comment, simply hugging his new son close.

"It will hurt them, I'm afraid," he turned to Vader, "Take Anakin's son back to your galaxy."

Vader nodded, and did so.

Obi-Wan turned to Anakin and Luke, "I'm sorry, Luke."

Luke smiled, "Thank you."

Obi-Wan disappeared and Luke's thin body tensed in Anakin's arms. Anakin held his son close and waited silently for the process to be over. At last, Luke's body relaxed, and Anakin stood still, holding him and rocking him caringly.

After several minutes, he carried his son to the kitchen and fed him.

Luke pushed away his empty bowl and smiled at his father.

"I don't have a bed for you."

Luke shrugged, "I'll happily take any bed at all."

Anakin lifted his son, to which Luke protested, and was allowed down. Anakin continued to try to support the child to the bed across from his own. He lowered the bar and folded back the blankets, allowing his son in.

Luke crawled in and closed his eyes. Anakin could have sworn he heard every muscle in his son's hurt body relaxing somewhat at the comfort of having a caring person close at hand and the soft mattress.

"I'll get you medical care at the Jedi Temple tomorrow morning."

Luke smiled up at the ceiling, "I can't believe there was a time when learning to be a Jedi was as easy as being taught by a teacher who wasn't killed after a week of lessons."

"Is, Luke. That time is. You're not trapped in Vader's nightmare of a galaxy anymore."

Luke's close-eyed smile widened, "Yeah, that's right. I don't need to worry about all that anymore," his eyes opened, "Dad, does this mean that I can be a kid again?"

Anakin smiled back at him, "Yes, Luke. Certainly. But first you have to sleep. Or we could call that being a kid too. Would you like," he checked his chrono, "Oh three hundred to be your bedtime?"

"I think I'm going to want to sleep a little earlier than that."

Anakin nodded, still smiling, "I'll be right here if you need me. Now sleep well."

He pulled the blankets up over his tired son and kissed his forehead. Luke smiled one last time before drifting off.


	5. Chapter 5

Anakin sat by his son's bed all night, meditating lightly so as to have some energy the next day. He didn't expect to need too much, Luke was too weak to be too taxing, but he thought he should be ready to wait on Luke for a while. Force knew the poor boy needed the attention.

When Luke awoke, Anakin was starting to slump to one side, drifting between meditation and true sleep.

"Daddy?"

Anakin started and sat up, "Luke?"

"Did you stay up with me?" Luke's voice was awestruck.

"Yeah, how do you feel?"

Luke didn't seem to hear his father's question, "You didn't need to do that."

Anakin smiled, "Of course I did. It's too clear your father never did."

Luke looked sad for a moment, but he quickly smiled up at Anakin again, "You're my father now."

Anakin nodded, "That's right. I said I was going to take you to the hospital this morning, so let's go and get it out of the way."

Luke shied away slightly, looking uncertain, "I know it's the smart thing to do, but can I please stay here with you today? I just want to feel more like I belong here before I accept something like that."

Anakin nodded, putting an arm around his son, "Alright, Luke. Promise me you'll let me help you, though. I don't want it to get worse just because you're cautious to accept help."

Luke nodded and snuggled up against Anakin, who put his arms around the helpless, hurt child and put his nose in the boy's hair, breathing in his scent and being immensely glad that protecting him had become so much easier.

He wondered what Vader had done with his own baby. The man had seemed sincere in his wish to take the helpless child, but Anakin was reluctant to fully believe him, because of what he'd done to his own baby.

"Dad, are you worried about… you know?" Luke asked, clearly meaning his alternate self.

"Yes."

"Don't be. Whatever you might say about my father, he doesn't lie. If he said he would protect him, he will."

Anakin nodded, "It's just being a parent that makes me paranoid like this, I think. I'm sorry to be thinking of him when I should be thinking about you. Are you hungry?"

"A bit. But don't worry about worrying about him. I don't want you to forget him completely, that would make me worry about how easily I could be replaced."

"I could never replace either one of you," Anakin promised.

Luke smiled, "Yeah, and that means the galaxy to me."

Anakin kissed the boy's cheek and helped him up, practically carrying him so as not to let his hurt feet touch the ground too much. Luke snuggled close against him, apparently glad of the gentleness with which Anakin treated him.

"Thank you for caring for me," Luke said softly, "I know I don't really deserve it."

Anakin sighed, adjusting his grip on the boy and lifting him, "Of course you deserve it. Your father just wanted to crush your spirit, though I can't think why."

Luke was silent as his father finished carrying him to the kitchen where he rested the boy on the counter and fed him. At last, Luke spoke.

"I miss him."

"Vader?"

"Yeah," Luke mumbled, poking at his food and looking ashamed, "I shouldn't, because I know you're a much better father than he, but I can't help it. He's the first parent I ever knew."

Anakin smiled at him, "I won't be upset because you miss him. Don't worry about that. I don't expect to be able to understand everything you feel. I love you, Luke. I can accept whatever you need to do to feel at home here."

Luke turned back to his food, poking it a couple more times before taking another bite. Anakin watched in concern as his son finished the meal, then took the bowl away and put it in the dishwasher.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Luke?"

"I think I'm ready to go in for the surgery to help with… everything."

Anakin nodded, not questioning the boy's decision, "Come on, I'll fly you."

Luke's eyes lit up, "Flying! It feels like forever since I've flown!"

Anakin grinned, "I feel the same way. I haven't flown much in almost two decades, since the other Luke was born."

"I haven't flown since Father captured me," Luke answered, apparently not noticing how much pain that statement should have caused him.

"You can fly on the way home, then, as long as they don't drug you too much."

Luke smiled and nodded, and Anakin helped him off the counter and led him towards the garage.


	6. Chapter 6

Luke rejoined his father in the waiting room with an expression of exquisite euphoria on his face.

Anakin laughed, "I guess you won't be driving home, it looks like they drugged you pretty heavily."

Luke shook his head, "No, they just knocked me out for the operation and gave me localized anesthetic. I told them how much I wanted to be allowed to fly home."

The doctor who had followed Luke out of the operating room nodded, smiling in a slightly confused, but affectionate, way, "That's one determined son you have. He held off the first couple of injections with pure willpower so he could tell us he wanted to be alert enough to fly home."

Anakin smiled, "I know."

He put his arm around Luke, who came eagerly.

The doctor smiled at them again and waved them onwards, pointing to his next patient.

Anakin led Luke out of the room, still trying to help keep the boy's feet off the ground, assuming they would be fragile for a time.

"I'm fine, Dad. You can put me down."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, totally. Look, they bandaged me up enough that I can't mess my feet up again unless I really, really want to."

Anakin smiled, looking at what he had assumed was Luke's boots, which had apparently been lost somewhere along the road to recovery

"I hope you don't really, really want to then."

Luke laughed, "I don't, I promise. I can go my whole life without ever being unable to walk again. That was awful."

Anakin wished for a moment that he wasn't Force sensitive, and couldn't feel the accompanying tremor that passed through the child at the memory of being unable to try to run to escape his captors.

Anakin tried to forget the feeling, leading his son back through the halls.

"I've been getting assistance from the Jedi Council to pay for living, and caring for my son. I suppose now that I have a son who I don't need to care for constantly, I can get some sort of job. So it's only fair that we go tell them."

Luke started to nod, then faltered, looking down at himself, his gaze traveling down to his feet, then up Anakin's body, "You really think they're going to believe this?"

"Luke, this is what they've been trained to understand."

"Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting I'm not the only Jedi here."

"Vader killed the entire order?"

Luke nodded, "Yeah, pretty much."

Anakin felt the same sour tang in his mouth as he always did when he heard of one of Vader's atrocities, but Luke had already shrugged it off.

"We should go tell them. Do I really get to fly?"

Anakin forced himself to push aside his own uncertainty, nodding and helping the boy climb up into the speeder, forgetting completely that Luke was busy insisting that he was fine.

Luke didn't protest, though, and Anakin vowed to himself to make his attempts more veiled, as Luke seemed to accept that type.

He climbed in the passenger side door.

Luke was looking across the controls, his young face brightening as he looked at the freedom his father had just given him.

"Where are we going?"

Anakin pointed, "The tallest spire."

"Awesome. In my galaxy, that's the Emperor's palace. It's much better that it be the Temple," Luke started the engine, taking off and shooting into traffic at top speed.

"Luke, you might want to slow down a little!" Anakin shouted over the roar of the wind.

"Why? Are you scared?" Luke teased.

"You think I'm afraid of a little fancy flying? No, I'm a little worried because you don't have a licence. Once you do, I'll find somewhere you can do this legally. I thought as long as you flew casual, no one would notice."

"Oh," Luke looked taken aback, and he pulled the speeders speed down sharply, "I forgot about that. Did anyone see us?"

"That depends on whether or not they thought the blur was a speeder."

Luke rolled his eyes, "I mean stormtroopers."

"Stormtroopers?"

"Sorry, law enforcement. I forgot that'd be different here."

Anakin felt the usual twinge. How long would it be before they learned all the differences and stopped running into them, killing the conversation?

"Dad, do you think they'd let us be Jedi again?"

Anakin shook his head, "I don't think so, Luke. Having children is a pretty major violation of their rules. Maybe they would let you join, I suppose."

"We should definitely ask," Luke declared, landing the speeder, and fumblingly attempting to drag his father to the Council room, with many twists and turns as Anakin had to correct him.


	7. Chapter 7

Much to Anakin's amazement, the Jedi allowed Luke and himself to rejoin the Order. Anakin felt somewhat detached from the rest of the galaxy, what with the extra rules they had put into place to allow Luke to stay close, as Luke had insisted.

The council was officially reconsidering its rules about family.

Luke had explained to them the details of his own galaxy's downfall, had shown them the scars to prove it. They agreed that there was no denying that allowing parents and children to stay together might be a good idea.

Luke had finally calmed back down two days after the meeting. Anakin thought that it would have been kind to send their answer back a little sooner, especially considering the way he'd been forced to end the meeting, carefully helping a crying Luke to his feet and leading him out of the room.

Luke was sitting snuggled up against his father's side, trying to focus on reading when they'd delivered the news, and he had promptly dropped the 'pad he'd been reading from, blinked around the entire room, and then, instead of the victory dance or something of the like Anakin had been expecting, said in a tiny, terrified voice, "Really?"

Mace Windu had simply nodded curtly and marched back out.

Anakin couldn't shake a feeling that maybe Vader had done at least one good deed in his galaxy.

Now Anakin watched as Luke trained with other Jedi apprentices, easily matching their abilities despite his lack of training. For a time, Obi-Wan had taken Luke on as his next apprentice, but something made Luke watery-eyed whenever he looked at his teacher, and both Obi-Wan and Anakin noticed how it confused him when Obi-Wan asked him to do certain things, such as deflecting laser bolts unless he was blindfolded, trying to mindtrick his teacher, and even just when Obi-Wan called him anything but his own name.

They concluded that Luke simply wasn't ready to know Obi-Wan in both galaxies.

Luke had bounced mentors for a while before it became a general consensus that he was simply not equipped to deal with the traditional mentor system.

Now Luke followed anyone around, learning whatever he happened to learn from them today. Anakin was currently watching him follow Obi-Wan around the training area, although Obi-Wan had not yet noticed.

Luke did that sometimes. He would just silently sneak around, trying to know someone a little better without talking to them. So far, by Anakin's count, he had followed Obi-Wan three times, Yoda twice, Ferus Olin once, and Mace Windu a dangerous seven times. Judging from the days he himself had been unable to find Luke, the boy had tried following him too. Twelve times. Anakin only hoped that was were Luke had been. From Luke's stories, he was every bit as good at getting into trouble as Anakin himself.

Luke left Obi-Wan to go about his business and returned to Anakin's side.

"Father?"

Anakin looked at him in surprise. Despite his age, Luke had not yet deviated from the affectionate forms of the word.

Luke seemed to notice the change and smiled, though Anakin felt him flinch, "Daddy. Sorry, I forgot for a second there."

"Forgot? Forgot that I'm not Vader?"

Luke started to fidget, "It's not that I consciously forgot… I mean, sometimes it just doesn't come to the top of your brain until you've already said it. You know what I mean, right?"

Anakin nodded, although he wasn't entirely sure.

"Next time, check for full body suit and scary breathing," he joked.

Luke laughed, but the sound was weaker than it once had been.

"Want to train together?"

"Sure."

Luke fidgeted some more, "What would we do together?"

"We could duel a little bit."

Luke's hand moved to where Anakin now knew the prosthetic joined the real flesh of his right arm. It had been a shock to him when Luke had rolled up his sleeve in the Jedi Council room and showed them that particular scar. He hadn't noticed, and now felt thoroughly bad about it.

"We would use training lightsabers. They just sting a little."

"Right, of course," Luke said, but he was still rubbing at his arm.

Anakin felt a twinge, "Do you really think I'm becoming Vader?"

"No! No, of course I don't think that!"

"Luke, are you alright?"

Luke turned to look up at Anakin, and Anakin was surprised to see a few tears in his eyes, "I guess I'm a little homesick."

"Homesick?" Anakin asked, hurt, "Homesick for a man who hurt you so much? How could you be homesick for someone who taught you to show being homesick by touching the scars he gave you?"

Luke sighed, sitting on his hands and looking very small, "I don't know. I just am. I'm sorry."

Anakin put his arm around the boy, "I'm not Vader. You don't have to apologize."

Luke nodded silently, still looking at his knees.

"Luke, you do know we're not the same, right? You were the one who told me to look at us as different people."

"Of course I know. I remember telling you that. It's just…lately you haven't been sticking as close to me."

"Vader was never by your side at all!"

"No, he wasn't. But at least… at least he was consistent. I mean, he never really changed in how much he was there for me, if anything he came to visit—,"

"You mean torture."

"Yeah, torture, me more often later on. But you've just been sort of drifting away. I miss having a father I could count on!"

"You know you can count on me! You just need to tell me what I can do to help you!"

"I'm not very good at that! I need someone who can tell what I need! I need someone who can help me figure out what I need!"

"What do you expect me to do? Watch you every minute of every day? Should I find a way to track your heartbeat? Your moods?"

"No! I'm not like that! I don't expect you to always know! Just…occasionally wouldn't hurt! I can't believe that's what you thought I meant! You obviously never bothered to get to know me! Was it just anything to get away from the embarrassment of having a mentally disabled child? Would you do that to me if something happened to my brain?"

To Anakin's horror, Luke burst into tears and ran. He tried to run after his son, but found Obi-Wan holding him back.

"Anakin, let him go."

"Let him go?" Anakin snarled, trying to break free.

"He needs to calm down."

"Yes, I know that! I always help him when he's upset! That's what fathers are supposed to do!"

Obi-Wan pushed Anakin to the ground, "He needs to be alone for a while."

"Alone? You're joking, right? Last time his father left him behind he came and found me and left his old father behind!"

"Anakin, last time your son didn't satisfy you perfectly, you allowed a man you knew to be a cruel and terrible father to take him away. Now you've scared Luke by pointing out his flaws, and unless you want him to see you as he did Vader, you can't keep him under your wing constantly. No matter how well-meant imprisonment is, it's still imprisonment."

Anakin stared in the direction his son had raced off in.

"He doesn't know this galaxy!"

"The galaxy he knows is much crueler, and from what he's told me he was dumped into it very unexpectedly."

"He's talked to you about that?"

"Yes. Have you ever noticed a day when you can't find him? When he needs to talk he comes to me. He knows you follow him obsessively, and he appreciates it, but sometimes he needs to talk to someone. So we shake you off, and he knows he can speak freely."

"And what do you talk about?" Anakin asked, a sinking feeling in his chest.

"What you won't talk to him about. He vents about what happened in his galaxy, and what Vader did to him. He told me that when he tries to talk to you about it, you get very defensive, you won't listen to what happened to him, merely insisting that none of it was his fault, and you change the subject."

"It hurts him to talk about it!" Anakin said defensively.

"Don't you remember what you needed when you were upset?"

Anakin felt himself getting more defensive and tried to brush it away. That was what Obi-Wan said had hurt Luke, "I'm surprised you remember. You were never very sympathetic."

"Anakin, I was your teacher. I wasn't supposed to be too attached to you. Besides, Padmé always seemed perfectly willing to discuss your problems."

"Padmé is different!"

"Luke doesn't have a Padmé to go to, Anakin. He has you."

"And you, apparently."

Obi-Wan sighed, "Anakin, you're right. I didn't practice being understanding enough. I tend to hurt his feelings as much as I help. You understand him better than anyone else, he told me. You just… you need to remember what it was like to feel alone."

"But I still am alone! Asides from Luke, I don't have anyone!"

Obi-Wan took a deep breath, "Luke told me that sometimes he feels like he doesn't really have you. Even though it was hard to hear him because he was trying so hard to smother himself with a pillow, I understood him to say that he feels like you're trying to be a model father, Anakin."

"What's wrong with that?"

"You're trying too hard," Obi-Wan let Anakin up, "Now make your decision. Run after him and make him feel trapped, or let him have some freedom."

Anakin stared in the direction he had last seen Luke running. Luke might feel abandoned and unwanted if he didn't follow, if he didn't run after him to make sure he was alright. But… Obi-Wan thought that perhaps Luke just needed time alone.

Anakin got out of the training gym, everyone was staring at him after his fight, and wrapped his arms around himself. Luke needed to be alone. That was normal. Anakin had felt that way sometimes.

Anakin would leave him alone.

He would just go home and make sure that he was all right.

Anakin hurried back to their chambers, but Luke was absent.

He needed to find the boy! What if he decided he was better off in his original galaxy?

Anakin started to turn back towards the door, but he remembered Obi-Wan warning him of crowding his son.

"_This is your galaxy now, Luke_," he whispered to no-one.


	8. Chapter 8

Luke finally dragged himself home well past midnight. Anakin welcomed his son, reaching out to him, wanting to hug him and hoping that it would make everything better.

Luke pushed past silently, slamming the door to his room behind him.

"Luke?"

The boy didn't respond, though.

"Luke? Where have you been?"

Still, Luke didn't answer.

Anakin turned away, telling himself that his son just needed to be alone again. It was natural. He needed some space before he could cope with any interaction. When he felt ready, he would leave his room and ask his father for help.

Anakin sat back down on the sofa, waiting nervously for the boy to give up and leave his room. He didn't notice his son's presence fade.

He was beginning to drift off himself when he realized that Luke had fallen asleep long ago.

He returned to the door and knocked softly, "Luke?"

No answer.

He opened the door and stepped inside, seeing his son curled up on his bed, fast asleep.

Anakin looked at his sleeping son a moment before taking a seat next to the boy. Asleep, he looked as young and harmless as ever, like someone who needed to be protected. How had this same child been screaming at his father only a few hours ago?

"Luke?"

Luke didn't stir.

"I just wanted to say I love you, and goodnight," Anakin told the sleeping boy. Luke always liked to be told to have a good night.

It had been something Anakin had done at first simply out of habit. He had always told his own son to sleep well, and it had easily carried over to this Luke as well. Luke had loved it, grasped it with all his strength. It seemed very comforting to be reminded of his father's love every night. It separated Anakin from Vader, Anakin assumed.

"I'm sorry we fought. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Luke still didn't stir, his face didn't change into a smile as it usually did when his father comforted him, even when he was asleep.

"I'll make it up to you tomorrow, I promise."

He stood and left his son to sleep.

He took a seat in the living room, activating his comlink.

"Obi-Wan, have you seen Luke since our fight?"

"Yes. I told him to go home a few hours ago, didn't he make it back?"

"He's back. I just wanted to know where he'd been."

"He was curled up in my bed, asleep, when I found him. I woke him up and we talked for a while. I tried to tell him that you're doing your best."

"Thank you, but he still seemed pretty angry."

"He's homesick."

"He told me. I just can't believe it. Are you absolutely certain he's not just _sick_?"

"Not completely. That didn't occur to me."

"I'm going to take his temperature."

"Is he awake?"

"No, why?"

"Anakin, he might choke on the thermometer."

"I'll wake him, then."

"When he's already angry with you?" Anakin could almost see Obi-Wan raising his eyebrows, although the feed was voice only.

"I guess not. I'll at least feel his forehead, though."

"You might wake him," Obi-Wan cautioned.

"No. He's out cold. I was already in there."

"Why did you do that?"

"I needed to say goodnight to him. He told me that it was important to him that I do that."

"Oh, yes."

Anakin walked into his son's room and gently laid a hand across the boy's forehead.

"He doesn't have a temperature."

"I'm not surprised. You're overreacting, Anakin."

"He's my son! I'm not supposed to hurt him!"

"You didn't mean to. You've saved him from much worse pain, and you both know that. Sometimes you won't get along, but that's what comes of having a child. He does love you, and he knows that you love him, but you really have to let him go a little bit further from you."

Looking at his sleeping son, Anakin was overcome with a feeling of dependency, "I don't want to."

"You're too possessive."

"I know."

"You're used to being the only person in your son's life."

"I am."

"But this Luke is different. He has the capacity to cope with more than one person in his life. Has he made any friends yet?"

"Not really, but it's because we've been spending so much time together."

"You mean because you've been guarding him too closely."

Anakin felt a twinge of shame, "Yes."

"Ben?" Luke rolled over, his eyes starting to flutter open.

"Luke?" Obi-Wan's voice answered.

"Yeah, he's waking up."

"I should let you work this out, then."

Anakin was very tempted to beg Obi-Wan to stay and keep them from hurting each other, but he forced himself to let his best friend go for the time being.

"Luke."

Luke's eyes opened a little further and he looked up at his father.

"Dad."

Anakin felt a sinking in his stomach. Dad was the least affectionate term his son ever used for him. Daddy was standard, and Father meant Vader, and, he nearly smiled to himself, when Luke was feeling especially good, he tended to make up words to tell his father how much he loved him.

"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I didn't mean to. I didn't know you could be so homesick for a monster like Vader."

Luke instantly broke down, grabbing Anakin's neck and clinging to him with all his strength. Anakin snuggled him close, trying to comfort him. Luke sobbed for several minutes before he spoke.

"It's not just Father."

"It isn't?"

"Daddy,"

Anakin let out a tiny sigh of relief.

"It's just that… your other son was never up to having any friends, and so far I've just wanted to be with you because… it's so different to be loved. But in my home galaxy, I have friends, and I miss them too."

"Oh," Anakin said. Of course Luke had friends he would miss! He was probably very lonely without his twin sister. Anakin felt a twinge of regret as he realized it was probably the first time they'd ever been separated.

"I'm sorry, it didn't occur to me that I was taking you away from anyone but him."

"You weren't. Not really. He had me prisoner. But it's just that… I mean, they're not doing the huge Imperial power announcements showing me anymore. They stopped when I was unable to stop crying. But I'm afraid that Father will introduce your son to my galaxy. Father would be so proud to have a son he could count on not to mess everything up. A son who is anyone but me," Luke began to cry again, and Anakin held him close, wanting to take away the boy's pain more than anything in the galaxy.

"He doesn't hate you, Luke. He just wanted you to need him a little more."

"I _do_ need him! I need him more than anyone or anything else in the entire galaxy! I need him to love me! All I need is for him to care about me! He just doesn't have time for taking care of me, because there's something wrong with me! I don't know what it is, or how it happened, but something must have made him choose to treat me the way he has."

Anakin didn't know how to answer, so he just rocked his son a few more times and made comforting noises in his throat.

"And the reason I'm so upset is that I think that Leia and Han will think that he's me. What if they think that Father did something terrible to me that made me like that? I mean, there was nothing wrong with it in your son, because he was born that way, but if I was like that it would mean that Father had practically bashed my head in!"

"Your friends would love you anyway."

"What if they liked me better like that? What if they _preferred_ a me who couldn't speak? What if I was to go back and they were all disappointed?"

"Luke, your friends love you. They don't care if you can speak. All they care about is that it's you."

"I'm also scared for Father. Of him. For him. I mean, I'm afraid of him in a way that's not the way you're thinking of."

"What way is that?"

"I'm afraid that if I'd waited long enough he might have decided that he cared about me. I'm afraid that… I don't know. That I abandoned him or something ridiculous like that."

"I feel the same way about letting my son go. Don't worry, I'm sure he feels bad about leaving you as well."

Luke let out a despairing wail, "That's exactly what I'm worried about! I don't want him to feel bad!"

"Luke, after everything he did to you, how can you care about that?"

"I don't know," Luke whimpered, "He's the only family I've ever known."

"You've had your sister."

"Oh, right, Leia."

"You _forgot_ your sister?" Anakin asked, incredulous in spite of himself.

Luke relapsed into tears, "I only just found out about her! The day before I was taken to prison! I never even got to tell her!"

"She doesn't know?"

"She's never going to know!"

"You mean you didn't grow up together?"

"Haven't I said that? Haven't I mentioned that I was taken away from my family?"

"I'm not sure. I know you said something about Vader, but I thought you grew up with Leia. I guess it might have slipped by in the stream of things you had to fill me in on."

Luke let out a helpless wail, "I'm going to die here, and she's going to die there, and she's never even going to know we're related," a hysterical giggle escaped Luke, "She's never going to know she kissed her brother."

"She kissed you?"

Luke seemed shaken from his hysterical state for a moment, "She did it to mock Han."

"You were really close, weren't you?"

"As far as I feel, I had two siblings, not one. And now I'm here, and I feel awfully alone. It's not that I don't love you. Having a father who cares for me has meant everything. It's just… I want to go home."

Anakin sighed. He loved Luke, the boy he'd grown so close to. It did mean a lot to have a son who didn't burst into tears around others, who was not only not a coward, although that wasn't exactly the right word for his own son, but someone very brave. He loved watching his son learning to be a Jedi, and he loved being able to speak to people again, but he understood Luke's homesickness, and he desperately wanted his own son back, afraid that somewhere deep under his child's impermeable aimless expression, the same feelings were hidden.

"You really want to go back, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Even though you know you'll only be returning to imprisonment?"

"Yeah."

"You know I love you."

"I know."

"I'll do everything I can to get you back to your father," _and get my own child back_, "But promise me you'll remember that I love you if Vader is awful to you again."

"I promise, Daddy. I love you so much."


	9. Chapter 9

"Take him back! You're right, he's too dependent!"

Anakin whipped around. That couldn't possibly have been Vader speaking, could it?

It was. He was holding Anakin's son, who actually waved at his father. Anakin told himself harshly that it was just Vader making the boy do that in some twisted parody of the typical cutesy new father.

"Father!" Luke released Anakin's neck in a heartbeat, and raced into his father's arms, pressing so close against him Anakin almost thought that he was trying to attach himself there for life.

To Anakin's surprise, and partial horror, Vader released his own son. He ran forwards to catch the child before he hit the ground, but to his surprise, Luke stood up, looked straight at his father and said happily, if somewhat clumsily, "Daddy!"

Anakin did catch the child as he stumbled childishly into his father's arms, proclaiming again, "Daddy!"

"Luke," Anakin said happily, hugging his son once again and then sitting the boy on his bed where, unlike before the switch, he sat happily, watching as Vader and his son were reunited.

Anakin turned to watch as well and saw Vader gently removing Luke from his person, setting the boy on the floor, but not pushing him away, as Anakin had expected.

"Luke," Vader said, gently putting one gloved hand in his son's hair.

Luke smiled up at him like an eager child, "Father. Oh, Father, I'm so glad you came back."

As he started to cry, Vader reached out and held him again. As the evil monster cradled his sobbing son, Anakin stared in confusion. He wanted to turn to his son to ask for verification as he had grown used to, but when he did, Luke looked as confused as he did, still watching the exchange from his seat on the bed.

"Love?" his own son asked.

"Yeah. I think they do love each other."

"Good," Luke said.

"I think so too."

Vader finally removed Luke again, but Anakin noticed he kept one hand on his son's shoulder, and Luke stayed very close to him, apparently afraid to leave him again.

"You've missed your son as well," Vader said, as softly as Anakin had ever heard him speak.

"Of course I have. Any father would," Anakin said, half way between expecting Vader to agree and expecting him to deny it, "At least any father who loves their child."

Instead of the resentment Anakin had been expecting, he sensed amusement from his darker self.

"It's the strangest thing, but I've missed this little piece of rebel scum."

Vader's son looked hurt for a moment, then seemed to sense what his father was saying, and laughed.

"Yeah, and I've missed my evil, neglecting dictator of a father. I didn't know you had a sense of humour, Dad."

"I thought I was 'Dad'."

Luke smiled cheekily, the most at ease Anakin had ever seen him "You _were_. Now _he_ is."

Anakin was too stunned to answer, too glad that Luke had finally been able to return home, and Luke suddenly looked concerned, "You're not hurt, are you? I was only joking, I love you both!"

Anakin made himself smile, "Of course I'm not hurt. I'm glad to see you feel safe with your father now."

Anakin's own son made his own contribution to the conversation, "My daddy," he said, wrapping himself around Anakin.

Vader's son laughed lightly, and Anakin found himself smiling down at the boy wrapped around himself, "Yeah, I'll always be your daddy. But I'll be his as well," he told Luke, gesturing to Vader's son.

Anakin's son shrugged, smiling, "Daddy," he said, pointing to Anakin, "Daddy," he said again, pointing to Vader. Anakin was beginning to get the feeling that Luke didn't quite understand what he was saying, until he pointed to Vader's son and announced very clearly, "Brother."

"Yes," Anakin said, smiling, "He's your brother. Or something like that."

"I thought we were switching permanently when it happened," Anakin said.

"I thought so as well," Vader added.

"I'm really glad we're not, though," Luke said, turning to Vader "I can go see Leia and Han again as soon as we get home, can't I? Please?"

_He's talking to Vader almost as if he expects to be treated fairly_, Anakin thought sadly, but Vader was nodding.

"You're going to let him?"

Vader made a slightly louder wheeze, which Anakin assumed would sound like a sigh without the enhancement of his voice.

"Your son is a wonderful boy."

Anakin's Luke was sitting on the bed still, watching with intent interest, "I know he is."

"I really did like having a child who followed my every command."

Anakin rolled his eyes, "You would."

"It was wonderful to be needed for everything, but…," Vader paused, "It can be a bit much at times, can't it?"

Anakin smiled, "I know it can. But when we, uh, traded, he couldn't even sit up by himself. Now he's walking and talking!"

"Daddy!" Luke repeated.

"If not fluently."

Vader sighed, "I used slightly harsher methods than you would to convince him to learn. Once he started trying, though, I think he likes it."

"Harsh!" Luke said.

"New word," Vader explained quickly, "He really does learn much faster now."

Part of Anakin was thrilled, but another part made him ask, "What harsher methods?"

Vader's son had a matching worried expression, and once more Vader hurried to explain himself, "Nothing drastic, I promise. It was just a matter of putting things a little bit out of his reach. He had to learn to move to his food when he wanted it. Once he'd mastered that, I made him ask for me to put it out. Since then, he's taken hold of his own learning curve."

"Wow," Anakin said, looking at his son again, "You were able to teach him all that in just a few weeks? I've spent years trying to teach him and… nothing."

Again he sensed amusement from Vader, "I think the phrase is 'tough love'."

Anakin was beginning to search for something to say, after all, he hadn't had nearly as much of a positive effect on Vader's son as Vader had had on his, when Obi-Wan entered.

"Anakin?"

Anakin turned and saw that it was the Obi-Wan from his galaxy, not Luke's strangely older mentor.

"Luke? And is he—,"

"Vader. Yes. And both our sons."

Obi-Wan looked around the room again, obviously surprised, "Then, is this your son?" he asked, approaching Anakin's child.

"Yes."

"Doesn't he usually start to cry when he sees me?"

"He's quite different now."

"Different!" Luke proclaimed happily.

"So I see."

"Have you ever had any contact with the Obi-Wan from Vader's galaxy?"

To Anakin's disappointment, Obi-Wan shook his head.

"I have," Vader said, "How do you think I got here?"

"I don't know. I assumed that you'd figured out a way to do that yourself, because Obi-Wan wasn't here. And, speaking of Obi-Wan being here, why are _you_ here?" he asked, turning to his teacher.

"I wanted to see that you and Luke had patched things up."

"In the middle of the night?" Anakin asked in confusion.

"It's nearly morning now."

Vader's son gave a wide yawn, "Keyword being nearly. I really hate to be trouble, but I need sleep. Can we go home? Please? I want to go home," Luke said, a strange mix of sad and happy. Sad to need to ask to go home, happy to be brave enough to ask, Anakin assumed.

Anakin felt Vader smile again, "As soon as Obi-Wan comes back," he turned to Anakin, "I asked him to let us speak privately."

"Should I leave?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Leave!" Luke said happily.

Obi-Wan looked around, confused and hurt. Anakin smiled back at him, "He doesn't understand everything he says. I think he just picks up words at random."

Vader nodded.

"Maybe it is best that I leave. You should say goodbye to one another."

Suddenly Vader's son seemed less sure of what was happening. As his happiness was wiped off his face, Obi-Wan turned to leave.

"We really are going to say goodbye, aren't we?" he asked.

Anakin stood up, and sensed his own son getting unsteadily to his feet. He steadied the boy, who continued to toddle towards Vader as Vader's son raced back into Anakin's arms.

"It's not forever, I promise. I'll find a way to come and visit, and," Anakin lowered his voice, "Make sure that this change of heart isn't faked."

Luke smiled with complete, open, easy trust, "It's not."

Then Luke broke away from Anakin, turning back to Vader, "But there is just one thing. When he sends us back to our galaxy, like he did with you two," he indicated his other self and Vader, "You'll hold me, won't you? It really does hurt."

Vader nodded, "Yes."

Then, much to Anakin's surprise, the two of them were gone. He ran to catch his son whose already tedious balance had been knocked off by the sudden loss of his support. Then the little form in his arms began to shake, and he clung to the fragile boy as the pain subsided. Then he helped the boy to his feet and over to the other Luke's bed.

"I guess you're mature enough to sleep in a bed without walls now, aren't you?" he asked fondly.

"Madure!"

"Mature."

"Matsure?"

Anakin smiled, "Close enough."


	10. Chapter 10

Anakin stood part way across the gym from his son and beckoned. The boy stood up from the wall he had been learning against and began to walk towards his father before breaking into a tottering run. As he neared Anakin, he stumbled, and Anakin caught him and helped him to stand back up. Then he took ten steps away from the boy and beckoned again. They continued the process until they had crossed the gym.

At last, Anakin helped his son sit down on a bench, the boy's balance completely thrown off by his journey across the room.

"Good job, Luke. We're getting closer, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Luke said, smiling up at his father.

"Only twelve cycles to get across the gym tonight. That's down three from our first attempt last night."

"Last night was fifteen," Luke confirmed.

They had taken to coming to the gym after everyone else had left, accidentally entering the first night when the door was unlocked for the cleaning droids, and since having obtained permission to use it, and the access codes necessary. That way, their strange form of practice didn't get in anyone's way.

Luke's skills with moving and talking were improving rapidly, and Anakin was finally becoming more useful as a Jedi once again.

Their daily schedule rarely changed, but it was working wonders for both of them, and Anakin rather liked the stability.

From nine until five, like any other job, Anakin would perform Jedi duties. At his request, he mostly taught lightsaber dueling to the older students. Then he would return home, eat and watch a holoshow with Luke, from which his son was picking up a great deal of his speech, which meant Anakin had to be careful about his choices; they were currently watching a soap opera that hovered somewhere between boring and immensely complicated. When their show was finished, they would watch a movie before heading down to the gym.

Once they arrived at the gym, he would help Luke to practice walking and running. After they had improved at least two cycles from their first attempt of the evening, they would work on swimming. Luke insisted that it was silly at first, but finally gave up when Anakin started trying to teach him how to do flips in the water. Luke's attempts were still clumsy, and he still frequently needed help in righting himself again afterwards, but he was undeniably better at it than he had been.

Anakin only wished his son's abilities were par with Vader's son on at least one skill.

"I wonder how your brother is doing," he said to Luke.

"Yeah," Luke had learned not to respond with an echo of the original speaker's words.

"You spent some time with his father; do you think they'll be getting along well?"

Luke paused for a moment before smiling, nodding, and saying "Yeah."

"Why the pause?"

"He's… different."

"I know he is. Do you think he might hurt Luke?"

This time, Luke replied instantly, with utmost certainty, "No. Not on purpose. He just-," the boy searched for the right word, "Maybe he'll try going too fast."

"Too fast?" Anakin recognized the phrase he usually used when he tried to hurry Luke's learning process in the area of walking too much, "Your brother is pretty different from you. I think he can manage trying to learn a little faster."

Luke looked frustrated, as always at his inability to communicate, not his father, "He's different now. More love than before."

"Vader?"

"Yeah. He's different, and he might be different faster than Brother's expecting."

Anakin laughed, "Oh, you mean he changed."

Luke smiled, glad his father had understood, "Yeah."

"And you think he might surprise your brother?"

Luke's smile widened into a grin, "Yeah."

"I think your brother's up to it. He's waited for that a long time."

Luke's smile faded and he looked wistful, "Yeah. He'll be happy now?"

"Definitely."

Suddenly, much to Anakin's surprise, someone grabbed his neck.

He yanked out of the person's arms and spun, reaching for his lightsaber, to find Vader's son sinking to his knees on the bench, tears of laughter in his eyes.

"I g-_got_ you," the boy laughed, "I _so_ got you!"

Anakin forced his hand away from his lightsaber and laughed as well. Now that he was aware of who had snuck up on him, he felt calmer.

"Next time, care to not strangle me as a greeting?"

Luke grinned with excessive innocence, "Strangle you? I wasn't trying to strangle you. I just wanted to give my daddy a hug; after all I haven't seen you in _days_," he exaggerated each word to the point of ridiculousness.

Anakin opened his mouth to reply, but there was a familiar sucking at the air in the room, and Vader appeared.

"He surprised you?" the Dark Lord asked.

Anakin forced himself to relax, "Yeah."

"I've been trying to do that to my father, but I never seem to be able to."

Anakin sensed amusement from Vader, "I'm accustomed to frequent attempts on my life. Anakin fell out of the galactic spotlight years ago. He's lost his paranoia."

Luke grinned and sat down on the bench. Anakin took a seat between the two boys and gazed up at Vader before realizing that the other man would probably have a very hard time seating himself on the low bench.

"Any particular reason you're here?"

Vader didn't answer, merely starting to pace, glancing frequently at Anakin's son.

"No reason," Luke said happily, "I just wanted to see how you're doing. And Father won't admit it, but he wanted to see your son."

Vader released a strange feeling, prickly, but very much like pride. Perhaps annoyed amusement? Then he nodded, accepting it, and Anakin helped his son to his feet. Once he was balanced, the boy ran to the Sith, and Anakin hugged Vader's boy close.

He just heard Vader starting to proudly remark on how much better Luke now was at walking, then whispered in the other boy's ear, "How has he been treating you?"

Luke sat back, grinning, "It's been great."

"Nothing, uh, prison related then?"

"Nothing. It's been kind of confusing, but better than it would have been if he'd introduced your son to my galaxy. As it is, the story is that I've escaped from prison, and I'm currently wandering around Coruscant, trying to find a way off planet. All week's been one long fight about whether I'll be better off staying with him or going back to the Alliance."

"Gee, I have no idea which side you're on."

Luke laughed again, "I think he'd be having an easier time of this if he hadn't let me communicate with Han and Leia and tell them that I'm safe."

"One of my worse ideas," Vader conceded.

"If you're including the ideas that we had as a Jedi the first time 'round, that's pretty bad."

"It certainly is," Vader said with that same strange affectionate prickle.

_Only Vader could make a prickle an affectionate thing._

"I just wanted to say hi and see how you're doing with him," Luke said with a smile, indicating Anakin's son, "And we should probably get home so Father can get back to working on overthrowing the Emperor. He works on it pretty much constantly now. I love you, Daddy."

Anakin hugged the boy one more time, asking Vader, "Are you sure you couldn't stay any longer?"

For the first time, exhaustion radiated from Vader. He shook his head.

Luke sat up and looked, slightly sourly, at his father, "I keep telling him I can manage the forces while he sleeps, but he won't listen to me," the boy turned to his father, "Would you do me a favour and tell him that I can take over occasionally? I can plan."

Another amused, affectionate prickle, "As you planned your rescue of the princess from the Death Star?"

"Hey! You'll notice my entire life had kind of switched around that day!"

The prickle continued as Vader released Anakin's son and put his arm around his own, and they disappeared.


End file.
